


candy apple

by stardustspeedway



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, izumi and food again, tomowata if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-14
Updated: 2016-08-14
Packaged: 2018-08-08 17:04:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7766098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardustspeedway/pseuds/stardustspeedway
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Forgive me if I can`t hear your voice over the sound of fireworks."</p>
            </blockquote>





	candy apple

**Author's Note:**

> summer festivals were my favourite when I visited Japan. 
> 
> a bit of a sequel to dry ice, in the same timeline. I went back to dry ice and added the proper honorifics since Izumi is saying Nazuna`s name in this one. while dry ice was inspired by one song, this was inspired by two: deco*27`s 'light lag' and usotsuki`s 'cotton candy and candy apple'

Summer was unbearable.  
  
If there was anything he hated (and there were plenty of things, really) it was the dense humidity of August. Izumi felt his clothes sticking to him like another layer of skin as he vainly attempted to pull the fabric away from his stomach and feel the reprieve of fresh air.  
  
Why didn`t they send Tsukasa out to do this kind of work? Izumi scowled as he walked around the venue, observing all of the festivities with a bitter gaze. As Arashi had put it (in her “authoritative voice” which honestly sounded just like her usual voice, but ten times more annoying in Izumi`s book) Izumi was someone well attuned to details, so he would do a good job of making sure everything was picture perfect for their performance the next day. After all, it was a certain _someone`s_ fault they had to save face and work harder than usual on all these extra projects and performances.  
  
It was her idea they perform on the second day of the summer festival. “Because the first day just tests the waters, and everyone is tired by the last day!” She mentioned something about it being like a cream cookie, where the middle part was the best. Blah blah, something about the second day being prime performance conditions, he didn`t listen. Bo _ring._  
  
He was mildly irritated by how many people walked around clumped together in groups, like troublesome blobs of lint clogging the pathways. Izumi stuck out like a sore thumb, being the only one who walked aimlessly by himself. He had to talk with the staff later in the evening when they prepared for the fireworks, but until then, he had a couple of hours yawning ahead of him. In the meantime, he felt himself slowly sinking out of focus in the hazy orange light framing the loud buzz of the crowds.  
  
Izumi was brought out of his stupor when he heard a familiar voice yelling extravagantly (gratingly) on his ears as he was pushed to the side. Blue eyes narrowed, glowering over his shoulder, only to find his fellow third year Wataru running off into the sunset, dragging along a flailing blonde kid. The smaller one looked familiar, but he couldn`t put his finger on it.  
  
“Tomo-chin! Darn...I`ll never get him back at this rate.”     
  
Without giving Izumi a second glance, Nazuna Nito passed him by at a slow jog before he bent over to catch his breath. The first thing Izumi noticed was his brightly coloured obi, while, at least not being tied like a girls, was still quite loud in colouring. It matched the rest of his yukata, splashed with sky blues and bloody hydrangea red. The light colours jumped out and brightened those intensely coloured eyes as Nazuna glanced up to find his gaze locked with the crabbiest boy in all of Yumenosaki.  
  
“What`s with the getup? I thought you were cool, _niichan._ ” Izumi taunted, his voice lowering to a scoff on the last word.  
“Hey! Don`t teashe me.” Nazuna angrily rubbed the back of his hand to his mouth as his lisp unconsciously emerged. “Wataru-chin forced us into these outfits. He wanted all of us to match.”  
  
Come to think of it, Wataru was wearing loud colours as well. It made the three stand out among the men who blending together in forgettable dark colours.  
At least Izumi was no longer the only one who didn`t fit into the crowd around here.  
  
“Well, good luck with that.” Izumi tilted his head in the direction Wataru ran off in as indication of that before turning on his heels.  
“What? You`re just going to go off in a huff and leave me alone, Izumi-chin?”  
  
Izumi made the mistake of looking back at Nazuna, whose lips had fashioned into a pout. So much for his insistence of being cool; the blonde looked like a small, unhappy rabbit. His asymmetrical fringe even hung down like a floppy bunny ear.  
  
Honestly, the furthest thing from cool.  
  
He sighed as though keeping Nazuna company would be the most grueling task on the planet earth. Putting his hands on his hips, Izumi tilted his head to the side, giving off an air that he couldn`t care any less if he tried.  
“You can follow along, I guess. Geez, you really are troublesome.”  
  
Nazuna appeared at his side within an instant, as if he belonged there the whole time.  
“And you`re rude. What else is new?” A defiant smirk played out on his features as Nazuna looked up at Izumi through pale eyelashes, daring him to say more.  
  
Izumi huffed. Whatever.  
  
He was silently grateful that Nazuna led the way, happily bouncing along with a small charm in his hair (was that the one he had worn during Tanabata?) Izumi hadn’t attended a festival in years, but the sights and sounds were nostalgic. He vaguely felt a lightness in his chest, the kind that could only be evoked with the way sight and sound affected a body, flooding with barely there memories of time gone by.  
  
Although his reflex was to laugh at how immature most everything seemed to him now (he could already hear Arashi`s voice lecturing him on how he would be graduating this year) from stuffed animals to rows of sentai masks, to the little children running by with bags of goldfish strapped to their wrists.  
  
“Aw, I want one of those.” Nazuna sighed as he looked at one of the stalls with pop cap guns, displaying a soft gray stuffed rabbit as one of the prizes.

Izumi arched an eyebrow at the fluffy rabbit. “Just win it, then.” He remarked impatiently, wondering if the time could go by any slower.  
Nazuna`s faced scrunched up in concentration as he picked out his words carefully, trying not to stumble over them in his usual haste.  
“I`m not very good at...festival games…” Red eyes darted to the side, seemingly embarrassed by such an unimportant fact. Izumi let out a snort of laughter as he walked up to the stall and examined the toy rifle. “Come on, Nazunyan. You can`t even use this little plastic thing?”  
  
“Fine! I`ll show you.” Nazuna nearly bit his tongue as he stomped up to Izumi, taking the gun from his hands (and nearly dropping it) before placing 100 yen down and taking a careful, shaky aim at the row of targets.  
  
It was almost cute ( _almost_ ) how completely off he was. He wasn`t even holding the gun right, but Izumi would save that for after Nazuna`s impending failure. Every shot landed at least five inches away from the mark.  
  
“There. Happy?” The blond huffed before setting the gun down, his usual cheerful expression returning in an instant when something new caught his eyes. Izumi felt a crooked smile spread over his face as Nazuna waltzed over to the cotton candy, looking to placate his anger with sweets. He always played the role of big brother, pulling up his posture to loftier heights, but right now, it amused Izumi how much he seemed like the seventeen year old kid he was.    
  
“Guess I`ll have to show him how it`s done.” Izumi twirled a coin between his hands before placing it down elegantly. It wasn`t even a minute before he successfully hit every one of the targets smack in the middle.

It was an easy win; he just pretended the targets were all the people he found _really_ annoying.  
  
“Congratulations!” The stall proprietor gestured to the top row of prizes, all gaudy and oversized. “Which one would you like?” Izumi boredly examined the selection before his eyes fixated on the cute, buttoned eyed rabbit that was staring right back at him. It wasn`t long before he sighed in defeat.  
  
“Wha-- you won?!” Nauna exclaimed, clutching the glossy plastic bag protecting his bright pink candy as he ran back to Izumi. He bit his lip, trying to meet Izumi`s gaze so that he could pretend that he totally wasn`t glancing at the prized rabbit every now and again. It was obvious that he was practically glowing with envy, but Nazuna did his best to steel his gaze.  
  
It wasn`t working.  
  
“...You can have it. It`s not even a big deal.” Izumi mumbled, shoving the stuffed animal into Nazuna`s arms. A soft yelp escaped his lips as he attempted to gather the bundle before it spilled over. The toy was so big that it hung over Nazuna`s shoulders, it`s happy gaze watching the crowd around them like a small child.  
  
A small smile crept over Nazuna`s lips gradually, eyes lighting up as though he knew a special secret that Izumi didn`t.  
“You know, you didn`t have to pick the rabbit…”  
  
“Eh, I decided to take pity on you. Isn`t that so nice of me?” With his hands on his hips, Izumi smirked. He didn`t do it because he wanted to be nice or anything. It was just so Nazuna would be in debt to him.  
  
Nazuna stifled his laughter by stuffing his face into the rabbit`s tummy. The bag of cotton candy crinkled in his hands as a playful gaze peeked out from the fluff.  
“Yeah, it is nice. Maybe I should be on the lookout for a flying pig.”  
  
“What`s that supposed to mean?” Izumi retorted indignantly. Or at least, he _tried_ to, before his mouth was suddenly filled. His reflex was to bite down angrily on the fingers suddenly pressed against his lips, but the threats died in his throat as a sweet taste spread over his tongue. The tingling sensation was a shock to his system, as Izumi rarely, if ever, had sugar.  
  
“That’s my thank you.” Nazuna`s smile glittered in the approaching dusk as he pulled a piece of cotton candy off for himself. His small pink tongue lingered over the tips of his fingers as he licked off every bit of sugar that was left  
  
Izumi was stunned into silence. Although the candy was painfully sweet, the salty taste of Nazuna`s skin still seemed to linger over his tongue. He wasn`t even going to approach the thought that the fingers pressed to his lips, to his teeth, were now touching Nazuna`s.    
  
Normally he would have spit an even more scathing comment at his smaller friend, but all that followed was silence as Izumi walked further ahead. Even Nazuna looked surprised that Izumi shut his mouth, although he decided against pushing his ire any further. Verbally, at least. The blond pushed even more candy his way as they walked on, Izumi responding in his usually crabby _hmphs_ , but taking the handfuls nonetheless.  
  
With each offering, their fingertips brushed.  
  
Throats parched from sugar, the two stopped by a drink stall, well stocked as they usually were with cold drinks, from beer to sodas. Nazuna plucked a colourful ramune bottle from the ice chests while Izumi settled on water, as usual.  
  
“Don`t you ever get tired of that?” Nazuna eyed Izumi as he drank his third bottle of the day.  
“It`s better than that sugar you`re guzzling. I thought rabbits had good teeth? All you have is a kid`s tongue.” Izumi chipped at him, each sentence punctuated with more annoyance than the previous one, before taking another sip.  
  
“Yeah, I guess that`s true.” Nazuna replied without batting an eyelash, much more preoccupied with eyeing another stall than with Izumi`s insults. “Speaking of which, come with me!”  
  
Izumi groaned as Nazuna grabbed him by the wrist, hardly caring whether he actually wished to accompany him or not. Blue eyes were sullen, looking down at the small hand firmly fixed on him, with fingers that were only able to wrap around Izumi`s wrist due to his slim frame.  
  
He`d focused on the keen sensation of Nazuna`s cool hand touching his unbearably warm skin, hardly noticing that they had already stopped. His companion was eagerly tottering on his feet as they waited in line as Izumi came back to earth.  
  
“Candy apples?” Izumi read aloud, frowning at the overly cheerful displays of food stalls sandwiched close together, overflowing with even more sugary treats. Chocolate bananas, soft-serve ice cream, shaved ice, even more cotton candy, and apples slathered in a glossy candy shell. On the one hand, Izumi already felt fatter looking at such a gluttonous display...but on the other, Nazuna`s childlike happiness at the thought of more sweets being in reach was  
  
not “cute,” persay.  
  
Endearing. That`s a better word, Izumi thought to himself.    
  
“Here.” Instead of handing it to him, Nazuna slid the little plastic band around Izumi`s wrist. The apple dangled from the loop inside it’s plastic bag like a shiny little prize.  
  
“Are you _trying_ to ruin my diet on purpose, Nazunyan?” Izumi remarked in a disdainful tone; he really should have known better!  
“Of course not! That’s why I got you the smaller one.” A huge, toothy grin spread across his face as Nazuna held up an apple far larger than the one he gave to Izumi.  
“You`re going to get a stomach ache. If you think I`m going to help you out, think again.”  
“Don`t worry, Izumi-chin. I`d never even dream of bothering you.”  
  
Laughter that could only be described as cheeky resounded over the him of the crowd, causing an annoyed yet oddly buoyant feeling to blossom in his stomach. He could only watch as Nazuna`s teeth cracked the candy shell, the insides of the red fruit spilling over.  
Once again, words failed him. All the insults that would spill forth as easily as breathing seemed to halt. The sky had completely darkened now; both people and lighted lanterns glowed even brighter than before.  
  
Did festivals always feel like this, or had it been so long that he couldn`t remember?  
  
His troubled thoughts were interrupted with a sudden bang that nearly made Izumi jump out of his skin. The plaza came alive with excitement as eyes turned skyward to catch the first burst of light that rocketed high into the sky. Wasn`t he supposed to talk with the director? Had the hours already gone by, just like that? It was just a minute ago that Nazuna decided to tag along.  
  
_Time flies by when you`re having fun._ He shook his head instantly. He wasn`t having fun!  
  
Nazuna, however, seemed to be having the time of his life. Red eyes were fixed on the night sky, completely captivated by even redder explosions that slowly trickled down like dying stars. Perhaps it was out of envy, or perhaps it wasn`t, but all Izumi could see was the effortless, sincere look of happiness on his face.  
  
If this had been a different time, maybe even a different universe, Izumi might have done something. If he had just a little more courage, maybe he would have grabbed Nazuna`s hand.  
  
As things were in the real world, Izumi stood frozen, locked with Nazuna`s skyward gaze. He watched as shiny eyes reflected a terrifyingly large burst of light, which was somehow an even better lens than actually looking up.  
  
Nazuna looked back at Izumi, excitedly calling out to him with a smile that outshined every firework he`d seen in his life.  
  
He tried to focus on the lips forming his name, but he couldn`t hear over the roar of the crowd applauding as the finale began. For a fleeting moment, Izumi couldn`t tell the difference between the earsplitting shatter of fireworks and the thumping in his chest.  
  
Izumi considered himself lucky. He even sent his thanks to whatever god would actually listen to him. If not for the bright fireworks bathing them in warm light, there would be nothing to hide the faint blush on his cheeks.


End file.
